Push-ups develop your chest, shoulders and triceps. If done properly they'll give you a strong core workout, too, training the muscles of your back, hips and abs to hold your body in proper push-up position against gravity.
You don't need to do more than 12 push-ups for an effective workout. The trick is to treat push-ups just like any other weight training exercise; your own body is the ultimate free weight. Once you can complete a full set of push-ups cleanly, increase the resistance, as it were, by performing a more difficult variation.
Step 1
Position yourself facedown on the floor. Support your weight on your hands and the balls of your feet. Your hands should be positioned beneath your shoulders, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Step 2
Squeeze your abs, back and hip muscles to keep your body straight from head to heels. Letting your hips sag down or stick up is one of the most common errors when doing push-ups, especially as you get tired. Stay focused on this key element of proper push-up form throughout the entire set.
Step 3
Inhale as you bend your arms, lowering your chest toward the floor. Your body should move as a solid unit, as if it were a plank of wood, and you should take at least a slow count of two to lower yourself. Let your elbows flare out naturally.
Step 4
Stop when your chest is slightly lower than your shoulders. Stop sooner if you experience shoulder pain or instability; you should feel your muscles burning during this exercise, but there should be no sharp joint or muscle pain.
Step 5
Exhale and press your body away from the floor. This motion should take a slow count of at least two. Again, your body should stay straight like a plank of wood. Stop when your arms are straight, but not locked. Resist the temptation to round your shoulders upward; keep your shoulder blades down and back or, to put it another way, think of sticking your chest out at the floor.
Step 6
Continue doing push-ups until you've completed a full set of eight to 12. Once you can do 12 repetitions without cheating, you're ready to work up to a more difficult version of push-ups. Some challenging modifications include placing your feet closer together to make balance more difficult or lifting one leg slightly off the floor. If you do the latter variation, make sure to switch legs halfway through the set.
Member Comments